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PEOPLE OF EARTH ATTENTION!

It should be clear for anyone visiting this website that I'm a big fan of science fiction films, especially as I'm constantly making Star Wars references as well as owning a Dune collection inspired from the film made in 1984. Yet what may not be widely known is that I'm also a huge fan of science fiction films made from the golden era of cinema 1929-1965. In fact this genre is such a big deal to me that I even ran a convention in July 2012 to help celebrate it ... see Con 9 From Outer Space.

Being a fan of classic sci-fi films it's probably no surprise to learn that I collect them too. In years gone by the collection was only ever on VHS, but these days DVD is more prevalent which is ironic as my first EVER DVD purchase was ... Plan 9 From Outer Space.

So what is it about these films that attract me to them? Well I think a lot has to do with the fact that I saw many of them when I was really young so they left a big impression, especially as the only way to see them was on free-to-air TV (no video recorders back in those days). In fact I still remember being scared to go to bed after seeing The Blob as well as having to turn the TV off in fright after the dogs chewed the arm off The Thing. But that aside these films also have a real innocence about them, especially as they have a complete lack of swearing, hardly any violence (certainly nothing that would be considered extreme) and were totally reliant on old school special effects to tell their story. In short these films are great fun to watch - even the bad ones.

So do I have any favourites? You betcha...

Clearly #1 has to be The Day the Earth Stood Still which stands right next to Forbidden Planet. These two films are fantastic examples of classic science fiction at its best and offer great repeat viewing pleasure.

Directly behind our top two are The Thing (From Another World) which I love for the chatty overlapping dialogue and Metropolis which is a personal fave. Next to this are Fiend Without a Face and The Incredible Shrinking Man the latter of which is a truly excellent movie.

Other films I really enjoy are This Island Earth, War of the Worlds, The Blob, Earth vs The Flying Saucers, and The Fly.

In terms of films that are so bad they HAVE to be good, Santa Claus Conquers the Martians is a real treat for watching on Christmas Eve as well as Plan 9 From Outer Space which I think lives in the hearts of all classic sci-fi fans.

As fortune would have it, I've not yet seen every film I own which means I have a ready supply of new movies to watch on a rainy day. One thing is for certain, if you're feeling a bit fed up with the world, nothing brings a smile to the face more than popping on a 50s classic and just letting the nostalgia play.

Below is a DVD listing of the collection including TV shows and weekly serials, remember that it's by no means complete as I'm still in the process of filling some gaps.

  • 12 to the Moon
  • 1984
  • 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
  • 20 Million Miles to Earth
  • 4D Man
  • Alligator People
  • Amazing Colossal Man, The
  • Amazing Transparent Man, The
  • Angry Red Planet, The
  • Assignment Outer Space
  • Astounding She-Monster, The
  • Atomic Man, The
  • Attack of the 50 Foot Woman
  • Attack of the Crab Monsters
  • Attack of the Giant Leeches
  • Attack of the Puppet People
  • Atomic Submarine, The
  • Battle Beyond the Sun
  • Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, The
  • Beast of Hollow Mountain, The
  • Beast with a 1,000,000 Eyes, The
  • Beginning of the End
  • Beyond the Time Barrier
  • Black Scorpion, The
  • Blob, The
  • Brain from Planet Arous, The
  • Brain Machine, The*
  • Brain That Wouldn't Die, The
  • Brick Bradford (serial)
  • Buck Rogers (serial)
  • Captain Video: Master of the Stratosphere (serial)
  • Cat Women of the Moon
  • Colossus of New York, The
  • Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe (serial)
  • Conquest of Space
  • Cosmos: War of the Planets *
  • Cosmic Man, The
  • Crack in the World
  • Crawling Eye, The
  • Crash of Moons *
  • Creation of the Humanoids
  • Creature Walks Among Us, The
  • Creature with the Atom Brain
  • Creature from the Black Lagoon
  • Curse of the Fly
  • Day Mars Invaded Earth, The
  • Day of the Triffids, The
  • Day the Earth Caught Fire, The
  • Day the Earth Stood Still, The
  • Day the Sky Exploded, The
  • Day the World Ended
  • Deadly Mantis, The
  • Destination Moon
  • Destination Space
  • Destroy all Planets *
  • Devil Girl From Mars
  • Donovan's Brain
  • Earth Dies Screaming, The
  • Earth vs The Flying Saucers
  • Earth vs The Spider
  • Eye Creatures, The
  • Fantastic Voyage
  • Fiend Without a Face
  • Fire Maidens from Outer Space
  • First Men in the Moon
  • First Spaceship on Venus
  • Five
  • Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (serial)
  • Flash Gordon Space Soldiers (serial)
  • Flash Gordon Trip to Mars (serial)
  • Flight to Mars
  • Fly, The
  • Flying Disc Man from Mars (serial)
  • Flying Saucer, The
  • Forbidden Planet
  • Four Sided Triangle
  • From the Earth to the Moon
  • Giant Behemoth, The
  • Giant Claw, The
  • Giant Gila Monster
  • Gog
  • Green Slime, The
  • I Married a Monster from Outer Space
  • Incredible Petrified World, The*
  • Incredible Shrinking Man, The
  • Invaders from Mars
  • Invasion of the Body Snatchers
  • Invasion of the Saucer Men
  • Invisible Boy, The
  • Invisible Invaders
  • Invisible Man, The
  • It Came from Beneath the Sea
  • It Came from Outer Space
  • It Conquered the World
  • It! The Terror from Beyond Space
  • Journey to the 7th Planet
  • Journey to the Centre of the Earth
  • Journey to the Far Side of the Sun
  • Killers from Space *
  • King of the Rocket Men
  • Kronos
  • Laser Mission *
  • Last Man on Earth, The
  • Last Woman on Earth
  • Lost Continent
  • Lost Planet, The (serial)
  • Magnetic Monster, The
  • Man from Planet X, The
  • Mars Needs Women
  • Menace from Outer Space *
  • Mesa of Lost Women *
  • Metropolis
  • Missile to the Moon
  • Mole People, The
  • Monolith Monsters, The
  • Monster from Green Hell
  • Monster of Piedras Blancas, The
  • Monster that Challenged the World, The
  • Monstrosity
  • Not of this Earth
  • Outer Limits, The (TV show)
  • Phantom Empire, The (serial)
  • Phantom from 10,000 Leagues, The
  • Phantom from Space *
  • Phantom Planet, The
  • Plan 9 From Outer Space
  • Planet Outlaws *
  • Prehistoric Women *
  • Project Moonbase
  • Purple Monster Strikes, The (serial)
  • Quatermass Xperiment, The
  • Quatermass II
  • Quatermass and the Pit
  • Queen of Outer Space
  • Radar Men from the Moon (serial)
  • Red Planet Mars
  • Return of the Fly
  • Revenge of the Creature
  • Riders to the Stars
  • Robinson Crusoe on Mars
  • Robot Monster
  • Rocketship X-M
  • Santa Claus Conquers the Martians
  • Satellite in the Sky
  • Science Fiction Theatre (TV show)
  • She Creature
  • Slime People, The
  • Snow Creature *
  • Space Master X-7
  • Spaceways
  • Stranger from Venus
  • Strange World of Planet X, The
  • Tarantula
  • Target Earth
  • Teenagers from Outer Space
  • Terror from the Year 5000
  • Thing (From Another World), The
  • Time Machine, The
  • Time Travellers, The
  • The World, The Flesh and The Devil
  • Them!
  • They Came from Beyond Space *
  • They Saved Hitler's Brain
  • Things to Come
  • This Island Earth
  • Twilight Zone, The (TV show)
  • Tobor the Great
  • Undersea Kingdom (serial)
  • Unknown World
  • Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
  • Voyage to the End of the Universe
  • Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women *
  • Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet *
  • War of the Colossal Beast
  • War of the Worlds, The
  • Warning from Space
  • Wasp Woman, The
  • When Worlds Collide
  • World Without End
  • X: The Man with X-Ray Eyes
  • X The Unknown
  • Zombies of the Stratosphere (serial)
  • Zontar The Thing From Venus *

* Is part of a large DVD box set compilation so the film doesn't have its own dedicated cover.

It's worth noting that not all the films are official releases as many are now listed as Public Domain. In the case where a film is simply not available on DVD, the only alternative is for fans to create their own versions. The good thing is the films still have nicely presented covers with menus, chapters and sometimes even extra features, the only difference is that they aren't licenced by anyone and often the film quality isn't the best. Still, to me they're as good as owning the real thing and look just as great on the bookshelf - as can be seen below.

An example of a DVD cover I made myself

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